Inspector Graham Book 7 Uncovered!

The setting for The Case of the Forsaken Child is a police conference that is happening in Gorey. I chose to set the cover inside. I normally like to have Inspector Graham's love of tea represented but it wasn't appropriate, so we switched to water with a jug and two glasses.

Richard started to work filling in some of the details I'd given him. I specifically wanted these rounded armchairs and sent him images from Pottery Barn of the type of chair I was looking for. Light is very important in these illustrations and as there was no window, Richard added spotlights. We used brick to break up the wall behind, and Richard added a painting which I think was an awesome touch. 

Richard gave the chairs a pop with the brighter yellow and added light to the spotlights. I did not have the book finished when we started this process so the finer details were still emerging. He added the calendar with a date circled as that has meaning in the story. He also changed the color of the flowers on the table and added shadow under the table. There are now audience chairs in the foreground which add depth. The illustration is now starting to take life.

Richard offered me a different color option by changing the chairs and the picture behind. I preferred the earlier color scheme and we switched back for the final rendition.

I finished the book, the final details made themselves obvious, and by brightening the chairs and building the appearance of light from the spotlights, Richard made the entire illustration more vibrant.